Space instrumentation

Abstract:

The design of an advanced Net Flux Radiometer (NFR), for inclusion as a payload on a future Ice Giants probe mission, is given. The Ice Giants NFR (IG-NFR) will measure the upward and downward radiation flux (hence net radiation flux), in seven spectral bands, spanning the range from solar to far infra-red wavelengths, each with a 5° Field-Of-View (FOV) and in five sequential view angles (±80°, ±45°, and 0°) as a function of altitude. IG-NFR measurements within either Uranus or Neptune’s atmospheres, using dedicated spectral filter bands will help derive radiative heating and cooling profiles, and will significantly contribute to our understanding of the planet’s atmospheric heat balance and structure, tropospheric 3-D flow, and compositions and opacities of the cloud layers. The IG-NFR uses an array of non-imaging Winston cones integrated to a matched thermopile detector Focal Plane Assembly (FPA), with individual bandpass filters, housed in a diamond windowed vacuum micro-vessel. The FPA thermopile detector signals are read out in parallel mode, amplified and processed by a multi-channel digitizer application specific integrated circuit (MCD ASIC) under field programmable gate array (FPGA) control. The vacuum micro-vessel rotates providing chopping between FOV’s of upward and downward radiation fluxes. This unique design allows for small net flux measurements in the presence of large ambient fluxes and rapidly changing ambient temperatures during the probe descent to ≥10 bar pressure.

Abstract:

The ten papers in this book, written by an international team of specialists, are the products of this effort.

Abstract:

The loss of water from Mars to space is thought to result from the transport of water to the upper atmosphere, where it is dissociated to hydrogen and escapes the planet. Recent observations have suggested large, rapid seasonal intrusions of water into the upper atmosphere, boosting the hydrogen abundance. We use the Atmospheric Chemistry Suite on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter to characterize the water distribution by altitude. Water profiles during the 2018–2019 southern spring and summer stormy seasons show that high-altitude water is preferentially supplied close to perihelion, and supersaturation occurs even when clouds are present. This implies that the potential for water to escape from Mars is higher than previously thought.

Abstract:

HARMONI is the first light visible and near-infrared (NIR) integral field spectrograph for the Extremely Large Telescope(ELT). The HARMONI spectrograph will have four near-infrared cameras and two visible, both with seven lenses of various materials and diameters ranging from 286 to 152 mm. The lens mounts design has been optimized for each lens material to compensate for thermal stresses and maintain lens alignment at the operational temperature of 130 K. We discuss their design and mounting concept, as well as assembly and verification steps. We show initial results from two prototypes and outline improvements in the mounting procedures to reach tighter lens alignments. To conclude, we present a description of our future work to measure the decentering of the lenses when cooled down and settled.

Abstract:

HARMONI is the first light visible and near-IR integral field spectrograph for the ELT. It covers a large spectral range from 450nm to 2450nm with resolving powers from R (≡λ/Δλ) 3500 to 18000 and spatial sampling from 60mas to 4mas. It can operate in two Adaptive Optics modes - SCAO (including a High Contrast capability) and LTAO - or with NOAO. The project is preparing for Final Design Reviews. The instrument uses a field splitter and image slicer to divide the field into 4 sub-units, each providing an input slit to one of four nearly identical spectrographs. This proceeding presents the final opto-mechanical design and the AIV plan of the spectrograph units.